How much room for democracy in the Church?

Pope Francis is currently consulting local priests and lay Catholics to choose his next Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, a decision which traditionally belongs to the pope himself. "La Croix" examines this unparalleled move.

Pope Francis and Cardinal Agostino Vallini in September 2013 in Rome. / Riccardo De Luca/AP

In an unprecedented process for the Bishop of Rome, Vatican Insider is reporting that Pope Francis has launched a consultation with people in his diocese to select its next Vicar General.

This choice normally belongs solely to the pope.

The current vicar, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, is 77 and will retire on April 17. Local priests and lay faithful have until April 12 to send letters with "suggestions on the profile of the next vicar and also eventually several names".

The consultation was launched by the pope at a private meeting with 36 leaders of the diocese, which has 334 parishes for its 2.8 million inhabitants.

Does the pope intend to make the Church more democratic?

He clearly showed his interest in the opinions of the Catholic laity during the broad consultation that took place before the two meetings of the Synod of Bishops on the family in 2014 and 2015.

"However, that was not a matter of governance," notes Fr Luc Forestier, director of the Institute of Religious Studies at the Catholic Institute of Paris.

Very ancient democratic practices in religious congregations

On the other hand, "consultation before appointing a bishop is, in itself, something quite normal," he emphasizes.

"However, this process is organized by the nuncio and is secret. I have already been consulted several times myself and I know lay people who also have been confidentially consulted."

The novelty of the current consultation is that it has taken place publicly among all the faithful even if they are not widely informed, Fr Forestier adds.

Thus, the pope's initiative is "very interesting", but "the analogy with democracy should be treated cautiously," warns Fr Forestier.

"It is essential to be clear that the Church cannot be compared in its functioning to a political or associative organization," he adds.

"The ecclesial reality is unique in its kind and has no secular equivalent. Even in diocesan synods where the bishops allow the faithful to speak, the final responsibility still comes back to him."

Nonetheless, very ancient democratic practices certainly exist in the Church, but mainly within the framework of certain religious congregations. Here a particular electoral body, often composed of religious having taken their final vows, chooses the superior.

More broadly, the pope's initiative for the future choice of his Vicar General for Rome should be considered in the light of "his very clear agenda for the reception of Vatican II", adds Fr Forestier.

"We can observe a new emphasis on the synodal dimension," with the desire that Catholics speak up, he says.

Indeed, in Fr Forestier's view, the current resistance to the synodal work inspired by Vatican II often comes not from the clergy but sometimes from lay people themselves. This will not end without an "interior renewal of persons", Fr Forestier concludes.

Originally published on March 15, 2017

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